Software applications are often used to view content that occupies a greater area than is available for display on a screen at a given time. For example, a document edited or viewed in a word processor, web browser, or text editor may include lines of text or other visual content that extend beyond the vertical and/or horizontal space on the screen. A graphical user interface can render a scrollbar for use in adjusting the portion of the content that is in view of the screen.
A display area may only depict a portion of the total area occupied by the content. A vertical scrollbar may be used to change which portion of the total area is depicted in the display area and/or a horizontal scrollbar may be used.
A typical scrollbar can comprise an elongated area that is referred to as a “track” and extends in the direction for which scrolling is to be controlled (e.g., for vertical scrolling, the track is vertical). The track contains an element that can be moved in the track to indicate the relative position of the displayed area to the full length or width of the document (in the horizontal or vertical direction as the case may be). This element is referred to as a “thumb” herein and in the art, but is also referred to in the art as a “knob,” scroll box,” “elevator,” “grip,” and by numerous other designations. The track may include arrows or other interface components for slight adjustment to the position of the thumb in the track such as up/down arrows. The track may be responsive to user gestures such as clicks—e.g. in some applications, clicking in the track above the thumb results in upward scrolling while clicking in the track below the thumb results in downward scrolling (with similar features for horizontal scrollbars).
Despite the ubiquity of scrollbars, there remains a need for improvement in navigation options for electronically-viewed documents.